


Smallest Sparrow

by FaeriSami



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Gen, Genyatta - Freeform, M/M, and they rescue an adorable child and becomes papas, background mekamechanic, my boys are very in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-21 01:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14273955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeriSami/pseuds/FaeriSami
Summary: Genji and Zenyatta are deployed on a mission to recover information in one of Talon's secret labs, and end up adopting one of the children imprisoned there.





	1. Bribe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oH HEY this is unbeta'd and english's not my native language, we die like man here  
> This is just setup for the actual thing, but it's got little shit Zen and Genji being little smug shits, yay

Genji thinks of himself as a lucky guy. How could he not? After dying by his own brother’s hands, Angela brings him back to life, and gives him another chance. He realizes it takes a couple years and a persistent omnic monk to make him see this chance, his judgement still clouded by anger and vengeance. But nonetheless, he eventually does. And for that, he is grateful. 

He remembers a moment in his travels with Zenyatta, not long after they’ve left the monastery. Zenyatta had still to fully come to terms with his decision. Genji found him fiddling, trying desperately to meditate, but failing. He sat down by his side, and told the omnic the same thing Zenyatta would always teach him:

“The universe will not give you solutions; it will give you opportunities. It is up to you to seize them, or let go.” 

Zenyatta held Genji’s hand that had been resting on his shoulder, comforting him. His array’s lights slightly flickered in appreciation, and Genji smiled. This was a new opportunity for great change, both for themselves and the world, Genji believed. It was up to them to make the most of it. 

“Genji?” Zenyatta’s soft voice comes from behind him, and he turns to meet his lover’s gaze. “You didn’t meet me for our daily meditation, I thought something happened.”

“I’m sorry, I was caught in my own thoughts and completely lost track of time.” Genji offers some space by his side on the ground between boxes and more boxes of newly arrived shipments. 

The sunset had always been beautiful in the watchpoint, that was a fact. It’s a shame that only now Genji could truly appreciate it. He looks at Zenyatta as he sits down by his side, taking his hand on his own. The yellow sunset reflects perfectly on his faceplate, and for a moment it creates a halo around it. Genji smiles sheepishly under his visor.

“I would love to know what kind of thoughts kept you so busy.” Zenyatta says, interlacing his fingers with Genji’s. 

“Well I can tell you that right now it’s mostly how incredibly good looking you are.” Genji confesses.

“Get a room, you two!” Out of the pile of boxes a young face pops up. She has a super nintendo box in her hands, her everlasting pink whiskers framing a wide smirk. 

“”This was kinda supposed to be secluded area, Hana.” Genji answers. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m planning a vintage game night on my stream and this bad boy just arrived, soooo…” She displays the box with the old game console like a trophy. 

“So you sneaked in a super nintendo and wanted to grab it before Winston realizes?” Genji crosses his arms, laughing at her mischievous little plan. 

“You’re not gonna turn me in now, are you, Shimada bro?” She holds the box tighter.

“I’m not the one you need to be worried about.” Genji looks to the side, to Zenyatta.

He is still looking to the far away horizon, the sun setting slowly over the sea. He looks almost as centered in himself as he would in meditation.

“You do not have to worry about me, Hana, I would not do such a thing.” He assures her, the reflection on his faceplate almost giving him a halo. 

Hana is about to let a sigh of relief out, but she is one moment too early. Slowly, Zenyatta turns his gaze to her, the almost otherworldly light turning into a creepier shadow.

“For a price.”

Hana almost drops her console on the ground, in shock. Zenyatta, former Shambali  _ monk -  _

“You want me to bribe you, Zen?” She is almost too shocked to voice the thought. Genji cannot control his laughter, very aware that if Zenyatta could form expressions on his face, he would have the most smug smile on. 

“No, not at all, Hana. All I am saying is that, if we were to be invited to your fun gaming night, I’d be beyond pleased to accept your invitation.” ‘Smug, so smug’ Genji thought again, lost in muffled laughter under his visor. 

“Oh my god you two are made for each other.” Hana says under hear breath, and laughs. “I mean, I was gonna invite Genji anyways, I just didn’t think gaming was your thing. Next thursday at my dorm room, then.” She leaves with a tight grip on her new console, shaking her head. 

Genji releases his visor as soon as they are alone again, and wipes the small tears that formed on the corners of his eyes. 

“It’s always amusing to see people discovering this side of you, master.” He sets his visor on the ground next to him.

“People assume a lot of who I am by my titles and teachings. I too enjoy showing this side. Life is not always seriousness and deep meanings; sometimes it is only about amusing a special someone by playfully asking for bribe.” He interlocks his fingers with Genji’s again, resuming from where they left off.

Genji laughs softly at that, his chest almost exploding with this fuzzy feeling. Gosh, he loved Zenyatta so much. Indeed, Genji was a lucky, lucky man, unworthy of so much affection and still blessed by it.

* * *

Genji wakes up the next morning to an empty space on his bed where Zenyatta usually lays. This is not too alarming, as he required less rest than Genji, but that didn’t stop Genji from missing him. Morning cuddling is, afterall, an important thing to start the day with. 

He drags himself out of bed, getting ready as fast as he can, which isn’t exactly fast as he’s still very sleepy. There’s no trace of Zenyatta anywhere on their room, or around the dorms in general. Genji tries not to get worried, but he does hurry his pace.

After some looking around, he finally hears from someone. Lucio had been doing some repair on his equipment all night long, and tells him Zenyatta passed through not long ago alongside Winston. 

Genji doesn’t wait for him to fill the story with any more detail, and heads to Winston’s office. He finds Zenyatta sitting by the meeting desk, Winston by his side. His focus is intent on a terminal displayed in front of him, reading what Genji can tell is a mission file meters away.

“Zenyatta.” He calls, getting closer. Winston stands straighter. 

“Genji, I was about to ask Athena to call you. Please, have a seat.” Winston gestures to the chair next to Zenyatta.

As Genji gets closer, he can finally read the file. Zenyatta reaches for his hand as he sits down by his side, his grip slightly wavering. This wasn’t just a routine mission they were being assigned.

“It’s quite simple.” Winston begins to explain. “Get in, extract the files from their database, get out. No sidetracking, just the two of you.”

“What’s the catch?” Genji asks, his throat a little dry. He’s been reading the file, something about a Project Chrysalis. Terms from cybernetics, biology, genetic modification… It gives Genji a bad feeling. Winston sighs. 

“I’m deploying you two because you’re the best two agents to get a clean, silent info job done together. But..” He adjusts his glasses, turning the displays off. “I also  _ know  _ you two. You’ll try and save whoever you can, no matter what. We cannot have any of that, alright? We need this information so we can actually deal with it the right way. A two-man rescue mission is bound to fail.”

“Rescue who exactly?” Zenyatta asks.

“According to my inside man…” Winston looks down. “A bunch of orphan children they’ve been running experiments on.”

 


	2. Project Chrysalis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, there's the kid. I can't wait to actually start writing some family time though

“Get in, get the information, get out.” Winston’s words resonate in Genji’s mind. Quick, efficient, painless stealth. Nobody would need to know they had ever set foot there. It was Genji’s specialty. 

But it wasn’t that simple, was it?

A soft hand pressed against his shoulder brings him back from his thoughts. Zenyatta is sitting down by his side, trying to give Genji some reassurance. He is certainly not unaffected, his pose slightly slouched, head tilted down - but he seems to be handling the situation better than Genji is.  

“We will be landing shortly, love.” He announces. Genji nods, reassuring him everything is fine. He takes a deep breath under his helmet, centering himself for the mission up ahead. He cannot rescue those children yet, but he can still help. They’ll just have to hang on tight until then. 

The entrance to the facility is clean. Winston’s inside man reported a breach in security that allowed them to quickly hop (or in Zenyatta’s case, float) over the protective fence and silently make their way through the corridors of the building.

The place almost looked like a hospital - white walls, wide and long corridors, windows showing the inside of the various labs with experiments left half done, scattered across the desks. Aside from one or two guards who were easily avoidable, they make their way across the building without any obstacles. 

Further along Genji spots one that sticks out like a sore thumb in all the white - it has various paper butterflies sticked to its door and inside, a table and some chairs in assorted colors lie on a corner, lego pieces and stuffed toys scattered on the floor surrounding it. He recognizes it as a playtime place for the children, but doesn’t focus on it any longer - their destination is close by.

They finally reach the basement, where the servers of the facility are located. Genji goes ahead and plugs the small flash drive stored in his non-dominant hand with Athena’s hacking protocols into the large CPU. Zenyatta stands watch by the door, keeping an eye for any activity nearby. 

As soon as the hack starts, Genji quickly scans the dark room with his visor’s dark vision, and joins Zenyatta up the stairs by the door.

“All clear.” Zenyatta confirms in a whisper as he approaches, and Genji nods.

“Decoding should be done in a couple of minutes. Now we wait.” 

They keep silent, Zenyatta focused on the door. Genji can see his faceplate barely reflecting the faint light of the corridor, the crack in the door letting enough light in to frame his optical receptors. 

“Not my idea of a great date.” Genji breaks the silence, still whispering, and Zenyatta lets out a soft chuckle.

“A dark basement cannot exactly provide the best mood for a date, no.” Zenyatta whispers in response. 

Genji smiles under his visor, content to make a joke as they wait. But it quickly fades away as he realizes Zenyatta tenses, his attention quickly shifting from the door to deeper in the basement.

“What is it?” Genji asks, voice even lower, looking at the direction.

“I heard something.” Zenyatta answers.

They freeze. Genji scans the room again, looking for any movement by the CPU, but he finds nothing. He quickly gestures for Zenyatta to stay put, and with his light feet and one hand on his sword’s holster, he makes his way down back to the flash drive, slowly. 

As he gets closer to the CPU, he can hear it as well - someone’s muffled heavy breathing, coming from behind a shelf packed with food and snacks. Genji tightens his grip on his sword, ready to confront whoever’s in there. He draws it, and leaps around the corner.

To his surprise, no one appears in front of him. He’s confused for a second, looking around, and realizing why - up on the corner between wall, shelf and basement’s roof, a small child straight up _ floats.  _ Feet to the wall, curling, arms crossed over a big cheetos bag - sneaking for a late night snack, most probably. 

Genji cannot see any details with his dark vision, but he notes the big almond shaped eyes, wide and terrified, the hospital clothes, and chubby arms scarred with what looked like wires and cybernetic enhancements. He freezes, not knowing what to do. Scare the child more, making them scream, and their mission is compromised. Stay in place, and let the child escape to tell whoever cares for them about them. He cannot think of a solution.

It doesn’t matter much as the child realizes his hesitation, and takes the moment to impulse themself with their tiny feet, floating over Genji’s head. They drop a few of the top shelf snacks on top of him to try and slow him down on their way to the basement door, but he is quicker and deflects the attack with ease.

“Zen! Up!” He manages to warn him before the child escapes. Zenyatta is quick on his feet, having closed the door beforehand, and floats, catching the child with ease midway flight and bringing them back to the ground. 

“I’m sorry.” Zenyatta whispers to the struggling child in his arms.

Genji rushes to Zenyatta’s side, flashdrive now in hand. He looks at the child in Zenyatta’s arms, still holding the cheetos bag, confused and scared in the complete dark. Genji sighs.

“We should move, Genji.” Zenyatta reads his mind. He nods, and leads the way back to the playtime room they saw earlier, not a long run but far enough from the basement. Hopefully the child would feel less threatened in there. Their mission had been compromised already, all that was left to do was convince the child to let them go without waking up the whole facility. 

Zenyatta puts them down on the ground as Genji closes the holographic blinds of the window to the corridor. The child instantly runs towards the table by the corner, hiding under it. Zenyatta doesn’t follow, sitting down where he let the child go. The small table almost completely hides the child, if not by their bare feet and cheetos bag peeking from Zenyatta’s angle.

“What do we do, master?” Genji asks, kneeling next to him. The child shifts.

“We talk.” Zenyatta leans towards the child’s direction, raising his voice slightly. “We do not wish you any harm, little one. Please come out.”

No response. 

“We’re sorry for scaring you. We weren’t expecting anyone else to be there, you just caught us by surprise.” Genji tries, to no avail. His head drops, shaking.

Genji is about to say something again, but Zenyatta signals him to let him try. Zenyatta shifts closer, trying to get a better view of them under the table. 

“Now, your levitation abilities are quite impressive.” Zenyatta looks at his mala for a moment, grabbing one of his orbs from it, energizing it with harmony. He sends the orb floating towards the child, gaining a curious gasp from them, the yellow glow mesmerizing. “It took me years to master mine, but you seem to have learned a lot, and at such a young age.”

The child hesitates, examining the orb. Their chubby fingers tap it before taking it on both their hands. 

“Pretty…” The circuity running along their arms and fingers lights up, and the orb starts floating again, this time far more erratically, the orb spinning on itself. 

“That child is controlling the orb on their own?” Genji whispers to Zenyatta, and he nods.

“Apparently the nodes on their arms have a similar technology to the one implemented on myself.” Zenyatta whispers back. “It is extremely hard to control, however. They’re extraordinarily skilled for their age.”

Slowly, the child crawls from under the table, and sits down in front of them on the ground, still keeping considerate distance but warming up nonetheless with the harmony in Zenyatta’s orb. They display the orb on their hand and makes it float again, light fading from the calming yellow to a vivid cyan blue, sending it back to its owner in the same erratic movement displayed before. Zenyatta takes it, placing it back alongside the others. He spins them around his neck, and the child lets out another tiny gasp.

“The doctor said I’m the only one who could do that in the entire world… But you can do it too?”  They say, confusion clear. “Who are you?”

“My name is Zenyatta, and this is Genji.” Zenyatta answers. “What is your name, little one?”

To their surprise, the child shrugs, shy eyes never keeping eye contact for too long. 

“No one ever gave me one. People call me Chrys three, or just Chrys when they’re in a hurry, but... I don’t like it.” They say, shaking their head in disapproval. 

“Chrys, as in short for Project Chrysalis?” Zenyatta remembers the name from the file. 

As the name is spoken by him, the child shudders, hugging themself.

“I hate that name! It’s what the evil lady says when she wants the doctor to put more metal on my body.” They say, frowning. “It really hurts and I hate it!”

“Of course, I’m sorry for bringing it up.” He quickly apologizes. 

Genji hums, and looks at Zenyatta. Whoever runs this place is creating a tiny army of children who have telekinesis powers. Seeing how much has been added to this child, - cables and nodes tracing from fingertips, disappearing under the short sleeves of the hospital clothes they are using -  they probably undergo upgrades at least monthly. 

This brings a lot of memories of his early days as a cyborg - the pain, the confusion, hours and hours in fisiotherapy to be able to walk properly again. It’s an experience almost as bad as dying. His blood boils under what is left of his skin. No one deserves this much suffering, especially innocent children. 

“How many more of you are there?” Genji asks.

“Well there’s the doctor, but he doesn’t sleep in here. Aunt Olivia gets here in the morning to make breakfast, but -” Chrys starts to list the people they know, but gets interrupted right away by him.

“No, I mean, how many other kids?” 

Chrys seems utterly confused by that question, eyebrows raising, lost. They look around, scratching their black short hair.

“It’s just me.”


	3. Report back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah look at these two dorks in love. two cinnamon rolls.

Winston is happy. Despite how stressful his job has been - leading an organization as big as Overwatch is, by far, not an easy task - things run smoothly, missions are carried out successfully and reports are filed quickly by most agents. He makes a mental note to scold Hana again for a report he still has to receive from her. But overall, Overwatch has been doing good work and he prides himself in being one of the people bringing this change for good to the world.

Of course, this is hard to see after a long night of work on many cups of coffee and little sleep. It is even harder to see when Zenyatta and Genji land back in the Watchpoint by sunrise, a child asleep, cradled in Genji’s arms. 

Winston welcomes them back with a sigh and a stern look. He rubs his eyes, moving his glasses with the movement, considering the implications of what they just did. He’s way too tired for this, he thinks. Zenyatta starts speaking in hopes of explaining, but Winston stops him on his tracks. He hoped for a quick “mission successful” from them, so he could finally go to bed. It’s not happening, apparently.

“I need another coffee first. One of you, to my office. The other...” He says, and looks at the small human again. The nodes and wires glow on the half shadow of a starting day, and they sleep heavily, seeming comfortable even in Genji’s hard armour clad shoulder. 

“... Take care of the child.” He doesn’t wait for them, making his way as quickly as he can in his sleepy walk back to his office. 

With his coffee now replenished and sitting down comfortably, he looks at who took the seat on the other side of his table - Genji had handed the child over to Zenyatta, and was ready to report back, sitting with his back straight, not afraid of any of the consequences that would befall him for his choice. 

Winston was a little bit grateful Genji would be the one to talk to. No offense to Zenyatta, but he was too sleep deprived to have a philosophical discussion about their actions right now. Genji would be slightly more straight forward, and consequently easier to deal with. 

“So…” Winstons starts, taking a big sip of his beverage. “I can’t say I wasn’t expecting you two to pull something off. But out of everything, bringing only one of them simply makes the next step  _ harder.  _ They are now aware of our presence, we do not have the upper hand to rescue the other children anymore. So, I would  _ love  _ to understand the reasoning behind all this. Please enlighten me.”

“Chrys is the only child in the facility.” Genji places the flash drive with the encrypted database on the table. “Both Chrys and Athena confirmed this.” 

“So the intel I was given…” Winton’s mind is racing. Was he given false information?

“Not entirely wrong. I skimmed through the files on our flight back… There has been ten children in total, Chrys included. But…” Genji’s tone is flooded with grief. “They have all been extensively genetically modified to withstand the electrical flood from the implants they put in their bodies.”

Winston considers the information, plugging the flash drive into his personal terminal to confirm it. His frown only deepens as he reads the files, one report more disturbing than the other. Experiments he wouldn’t dream of performing, explained in extensive detail. He decides he doesn’t have the stomach for it right now, storing them for a future Winston to deal with.

“None of the others survived this far.” Genji’s gaze lowers to his feet. “Chrys is the only one left.”

Winston takes his glasses off, placing them on the table, rubbing his forehead  to center himself once more. He hears the door to his office slide open and close again. Zenyatta arrives, placing a hand on Genji’s shoulder as he approaches.

“I presume Genji has finished reporting to you, by the looks of it.” He notes the clear terror in Winton’s expression as he acknowledges Zenyatta’s presence. “I must make it clear that we acted in good faith only, Winston. In our assessment of the situation, bringing the child with us would be the best solution, both for Overwatch and the child's safety.”

“We are aware we went against direct orders though, and we take full responsibility for it.” Genji adds. 

Winston takes a deep breath, looking at the couple and putting his glasses back on. 

“Very well. I trust your judgment, and it was the best course of action, I won't deny it.” He says. “But before you do something like that in the future, I would strongly recommend you update Athena on the situation so we can discuss it through comms, if possible.

“Of course, Winston.” Genji nods. 

“Now, if you'll excuse me…” He rises from his chair, holding his empty cup of coffee. “I'm in need of some well deserved rest, if I say so myself. Good night.” And with that, he grabs his sleepy self out of the office.

* * *

 

The couple finds their way back to their room not long after, bodies sore and in need of rest. As Genji reaches for the lock, Zenyatta holds him for a second, bringing an index finger to his faceplate.

He opens the door carefully to the child bundled up under the blankets of the couple's double bed, still asleep. 

“I assumed it would be better not to leave the child alone on their first night here.” Zenyatta explains, receiving a quick nod from Genji. 

Genji takes his visor off, now in the privacy of his room, and places it by Zenyatta’s mala orbs on the small table by the corner of the room. He turns back to his lover making sure Chrys was properly tucked in the blankets, and the rather domestic scene makes Genji’s heart skip a beat. 

Despite being in a relationship for so long now, they never even touched the subject of having a child together someday. With their constant traveling, it wasn't the best situation to raise a child in. Even now in Overwatch, there would be a lot of obstacles, with their lives being put in danger constantly being the cherry on top. The thought rarely had crossed his mind.

But now he sees the person he loves the most in the whole universe, carefully running his metal fingers through the child’s hair, making sure they’re safe and sound, and his heart aches a little. He approaches Zenyatta from behind, wrapping his arms around his waist, embracing him in a tight hug and resting his head on Zenyatta’s shoulder.

“Genji?” Zenyatta turns his head to meet his gaze. Genji’s eyes glow faintly of his dragon’s vivid green in the dark room. He lightly shakes his head.

“I didn’t exactly have the best family growing up.” Genji starts explaining. “I guess I just see myself a lot in Chrys, so I just want to make sure they grow up safe.”

Zenyatta turns around, fully facing Genji now, and places one of his hands on the side of his face, a thumb tracing ever so carefully a deep scar on his cheekbone. Genji takes the opportunity and kisses him, lips meeting faceplate seam, static energy prickling Genji’s skin playfully. The loving kiss only gets interrupted so Genji can pout. Zenyatta tilts his head in confusion.

“As adorable as Chrys sleeping in our bed is, there’s still a problem.” Genji whispers. “There’s only space for one of us now.” 

“Hm.” Zenyatta considers the information. “It is no problem at all, I can still recharge as I meditate on my mat.”

“I could always crash in the common room’s couch.” Genji offers.

“And wake up with a sore back? I will not have that happening.” Zenyatta’s words seem final. 

“Yes, mom.” He mocks, earning a well deserved playful flick to the forehead. They both laugh quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always your kudos and comments keep me going, thanks for sticking around <3


	4. "Zen?" "Yes, Chrys?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hi yeah it's late and im just sleepy but I just wanted to write Chrys being an adorable kid around Zen. Enjoy the filler

Zenyatta only needs four hours for his batteries to fully charge at night, which usually means four hours of hibernation mode, two of meditation and two of assorted activities - which usually encompasses cuddling and admiring a peacefully asleep Genji. “Waking up” from his hibernation to his partner’s comforting presence by his side on their bed is one of Zenyatta’s favorite times of the day.

But today he wakes up with his back to the wall of their bedroom, sitting with his legs crossed in his meditation position. He cannot feel discomfort, but he takes his time standing up, making sure his joints move correctly. He logs a note to perform a much needed check-up visit with Torbjorn as he carefully collects his mala, placing them back around his neck with a silent spin. 

He looks to the bed, hoping to find both Genji and Chrys asleep - they arrived at the Watchpoint at sunrise, so he expects both to wake up not earlier than eleven in the morning. His internal clock reads nine thirty-four. 

To his surprise, Chrys is already up, sitting on the same spot on the bed Zenyatta laid them down the night before. They look at Genji by his side (his face half covered by blankets and still sleeping) much like Zenyatta does everyday, but with different intent. Chrys seems curious, the kind of pure, innocent curiosity only a child can display. They extend their tiny chubby hand, and traces a long scar on Genji’s forehead as to prove to themself it’s real. Genji doesn’t seem to feel it as he looks unfazed by the touch, still sleeping soundly - Zenyatta knows how much of a heavy sleeper he can be, quite the ironic trait for a ninja. 

Zenyatta floats towards them, sitting by Genji’s feet on the bed, gaze never leaving Chrys. He sees them retracting their hand slowly, now to trace one of the nodes on their skin. He hadn't noticed that before, but all of the nodes scattered along the child's arms have scarred the skin around them in the form of thin lighting, as if the scars where the roots of the nodes that have grown and made a home there.

“Zenyatta?” Chrys calls for him, whispering as to not wake up Genji, fiddling with the wires that connect said nodes. 

“Yes, Chrys?” 

“Did a doctor put metal in Genji’s body to give him powers too? Is that why he can jump that high?” They ask, and Zenyatta has to consider how to phrase this answer. 

“Yes, but not for the same reasons as your doctor.” He explains. “You see, Genji was badly hurt in a fight many years ago. Doctor Ziegler had to use those cybernetics on Genji to save his life. Your doctor, on the other hand…”

Zenyatta doesn’t need to finish that sentence. Chrys nods, gaze lowering to their arms. 

“Zenyatta?” Chrys asks again. 

“Yes?” He expects another hard to answer question.

“Where’s the toilet?” They blurt out, and Zenyatta chuckles. That one he has an easy answer for.

“Come, I will show you. We can go for breakfast afterwards, I am sure you must be hungry.” Zenyatta says.

The thought of food makes Chrys quick in getting out of bed, literally floating out of the blankets in their messy style. With the excited movement, Chrys pulls the blanket, leaving Genji with his back exposed to the chilly morning air coming from the window. Zenyatta adjusts it quickly, kissing his boyfriend before leaving. 

“Zenyatta?” Chrys asks once more as they both get out into the corridor, Zenyatta closing the door behind them.

“Yes?” 

“I know you don’t need to eat. You don’t need to go get breakfast with me if you don’t want to.” They say.

“Do you not enjoy my company, Chrys? I won’t accompany you if you do not wish me to.” He says. The child shakes their head viciously.

“That’s not it, I really like talking to you!” They explain. “It’s just that, if I wasn’t able to eat, I’d be really sad. So I wouldn’t mind you leaving me to have breakfast alone if that makes you happy.”

“Oh, my dear child…” Zenyatta stops their walk through the corridor to kneel down to be at Chrys’s eye level. “Your compassion is truly touching. But do not worry about me. I do not mind, not being able to eat, and I’d love to join you for breakfast just for the company.”

A smile draws on Chrys’s lips as they resume their walk, finally meeting the end of the corridor. But before they hit the stairs, the door to the last room opens, revealing a worn out Hana Song, whisker makeup smudged and big bags under her eyes. 

“Late streaming night, my friend?” Zenyatta asks, laughing at her messy hair. She takes a while to process the presence of the two in front of her, Chrys hiding behind Zenyatta’s baggy pants, scared of the new person. 

“Yo, Zen.” Is all she manages to greet him with in her sleep deprived state. She finally realizes the movement under her eye level, rubbing her eyes as she notices the child’s presence behind the omnic. 

“Dude wtf, how long have I been in there for???” She says in mild shock, looking behind her to her room as she had just stepped out of a time machine and teleported to the future. A future where Zen and Genji were married and had a kid and where she missed the latest game releases.

“Only for a couple of hours, I'm sure.” Zenyatta answers, amused, trying to calm her down. 

“Since when do you guys have a child??” She asks, placing a hand on her forehead. Zenyatta can see her effort to try to draw a logic conclusion out of the scene in front of her, but she is clearly out of herself right now. “Was Genji pregnant? Wait that makes no sense, was it you, Zen? Zen???”

Zenyatta has to hold back his laughter. As amusing this whole situation is, he feels sorry for the girl and urges her to go back inside and get some sleep, promising an explanation afterwards. After a moment of more hard drunk thinking on her side, she compels, leaving them alone in the corridor again. 

“Who was that?” Chrys finally asks, still tugging Zenyatta’s pants.

“A friend of mine.” He says as they resume their way.

Chrys silently thinks for a moment, and they finally arrive at their destination. 

“You have strange friends.” Chrys blurts out, laughing, and closes the door to the toilet before Zenyatta can say anything. 

If he would be honest with himself, Chrys isn't wrong - everyone in Overwatch has something that sets them apart from the crowd - Hana being sleep deprived isn't exactly the strangest thing he'd ever seen in his life. 

But again, Zenyatta himself is an omnic monk who left his siblings to wander the world alongside his cyborg ninja boyfriend, and now they were taking care of a child born and raised in a lab. 

Who is he to judge?  

* * *

 

“Do you think you can reach those with your powers?” Zenyatta asks, empty bowl and spoon in his hands.

Chrys looks up to the top shelf in the kitchen, where they kept all the good cereals - the real deal, not those tasteless corn chips trying to pass as tasty breakfast. Chrys hates those. They extend both their hands towards the selected box - a closed pack of sweet Lucio-Oh’s, shaking a little as Chrys tries to push it from where it is. 

“Focus on the path you want it to take.” Zenyatta tries to guide the child, kneeling to eye level. 

Chrys takes a deep breath, focusing as hard as they can on levitating the box without knocking all the others off the shelf, and a frown forms on their face as the energy builds up on the nodes scattered across their arms. The Lucio-Ohs finally make it out of the shelf, but so does a box of corn flakes that almost hits Chrys right in their head. Zenyatta is quick enough to divert the hit, grabbing the box mid air and placing it back on the shelf of bad cereals.

“I did it! Look, look!” Chrys displays the box of cereal as a trophy to Zenyatta as he hands the bowl and spoon to them. “Did you see it?”

“Indeed, it was very impressive!” Zenyatta says, helping Chryst finish preparing their cereal.

Bowl full in Chrys’s hand, they both sit down by one of the large tables in the dining hall. Zenyatta’s internal clock tells him it’s a couple minutes past ten in the morning, so he is not at all surprised they’re the only ones in there right now - all the other agents are either the night owls who will only wake up after noon, or already hard at work. 

He looks around and the warm sunlight hits faceplate; the landscape outside the window is truly breathtaking - from the angle where he stands he can see the corner of the spot Genji and him use for their daily meditation. He tilts his head in contentment. He is happy to see a patch of wildflowers starting to bloom in there, and he cannot wait to meet his sparrow again so they can both enjoy this great view together.

“Zenyatta?” Chrys’s voice brings him back from his thoughts.

“Yes, Chrys?”

“Does it hurt when you use your powers too?” 

The question takes Zenyatta by surprise. He takes a moment to look at the child - their eyes awaiting for an answer, bits of cereal on their face and a milk mustache on their top lip. He would have found them adorable if not for the question looming about.

“My powers have never brought me physical pain, no.” He finally answers. “If your powers are hurting you, Chrys, then you should cease using them. It is not healthy to put your body under stress like that.”

Chrys shakes their head viciously.

“It’s not like that!” They explain, letting their spoon go inside the bowl to wipe their milk mustache. “It hurts only when I use it for too long. It’s just that… You make it look really easy. I just want to be as good as you, someday.”

Zenyatta lets out a soft laugh.

“You are already very talented for your age, Chrys. Proficiency will come with time and practice, I can assure you that.”

Chrys thinks for a moment before resuming their breakfast, and flash Zenyatta the biggest puppy eyes they could display.

“Can you teach me?” 

“Of course. But you should finish your cereal first.” Zenyatta says.

Now happy with his answer, Chrys goes back to their breakfast, eating what is left of it in no time at all. 

“I have but one condition.” Zenyatta announces. “You must teach me your incredible charisma skills in return.

Chrys gives him a carefree shrug.

“I don’t think I can teach you that, though. I was just born like that.” They blurt out with the innocent honesty only children have.

Zenyatta doesn't think he has laughed this hard in a long time now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comment so i can bring more adorable kid with their papas ty bye


	5. Dear Brother, Dear Sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop there it is, more feels for you

Pain, so much pain. He chokes on his own anguish.

His brother looks down to the floor where a body lays limp, all life stolen from it in a single swift motion.

He watches from afar as soul parts flesh, and realizes he cannot breathe anymore.

He looks at his reflection and forever, he is all alone.

 

* * *

 

Genji wakes up gasping for air.

His nightmares had been more and more intense of late, but he couldn't pinpoint a reason why. He looks to his side, and finds Zenyatta asleep, the familiar presence of his lover grounding him in the present. He realizes he won't be asleep anytime soon again, and leaves the comfort of their bed to grab a cup of water.

On his way to the kitchen, however, he finds Chrys sitting on the common room's couch, hugging their new comfort toy - a stuffed pachimari.

Today was their second day in the watchpoint, and by this afternoon Chrys was assigned their own room. Zenyatta insisted there was more than enough space in their bedroom for Chrys, but the child seemed to have made their mind up on showing independence, and insisted they would be fine sleeping alone.

Genji approaches them, and he can hear them sobbing as quietly as they can, hiccups muffled by the plushie. He puts his hand on the child's back, sitting down by their side to comfort them.

“What's wrong, Chrys?” The worry in Genji's voice is clear. “Why are you crying?”

Chrys tries to hold back the tears and hiccups before meeting Genji's gaze in a failed attempt to save face.

“It hurts.” They manage to say in between sobs.

“What does? Your arms?” Genji assumes, knowing how much cybernetics could affect someone's life.

Chrys only manages to nod, tears that had been held back coming to the surface as their pain is recognized.

“We should wake Doctor Ziegler up so she can look into this.” Genji says, and is met with a head shake and hiccups.

He doesn't know if Chrys refusal to see a doctor is due to pure stubbornness or a very understandable fear of them, so he decides to wait for the child to calm down first. He lightly rubs Chrys’s back, comforting them until their crying subdues enough for them to talk.

“Are you feeling better now?” Genji asks, gaining a shy nod and a deep breath “Does it still hurt?”

Chrys shakes their head, and Genji relaxes a little.

“Do you want to tell me what happened? I thought your powers couldn't hurt you.” Genji asks.

“They don't if I don't use them too much.” Chrys starts explaining, their voice slightly sore now. “But sometimes when I have bad dreams I charge them up without realizing, and then I wake up with my arms hurting really bad.”

Genji puts his hand on Chrys’s arm, rubbing small circles in hopes of soothing the remaining pain away. He remember his own restless nights back when he got his new body, of the hours and hours both nightmares and phantom limbs kept from his sleep.

“I'm sorry to hear that. If it brings any comfort to you, I'm also awake because of a nightmare.” He confesses, and Chrys seems as worried as Genji was just minutes ago.

“Was it about your bad accident?” Chrys asks, and Genji is surprised they know about his murder, although he is confused as to why they called it an accident.

“Zenyatta told me that's why you got your powers. You don't need to talk about it though.”

Ah, so that's why. He assumes Zenyatta didn't want to lay such a heavy truth onto the child, so leaving it at a bad accident was vague enough not to worry them too much.

“You could say that, yes.” Genji agrees. “My brother was there, and it makes the nightmare even worse.”

“You have a brother?” Chrys asks, pulling their pachimari closer. Genji nods.

“He blames himself for what happened to me, so we haven’t seen eachother in a long time.” Genji says, gaze low.

“You miss him now.” Chrys states the obvious.

They stay a moment in silence, Chrys fiddling with their plushie. While it was true that he misses his brother greatly, he knows Hanzo would shune him away the moment he recognizes him. Besides, it already pained him to see Hanzo in his dreams, who knows how he would react meeting him again. Genji was a different man now, but he was far from being perfect.

“Is your brother still alive?” Chrys asks, and it surprises Genji. He simply nods, the silence between phrases feeling longer than they really are.

“Then why don’t you just call him?”

“It’s not that simple…” Genji answers. It is easy to make a call, but how to even begin talking with his brother? There was so much he wanted to say.

“I was dreaming about my sibling too.” Chrys looks to the side, voice almost a whisper. “She was younger than me, but she bossed everyone around. I really liked her but she hogged the deserts one day, and left my other siblings without it. I was the only one who talked to her so I told her to give the desert back. We fought. but she was stronger so she ran away with it. I didn’t talk to her for a week after that.”

Genji remembers the files he read on Project Chrysalis, how Chrys at some point lived with nine other children, only to see each one of them die to the horrible experiments they were put through. He already knew how this story ended, and it only made it more painful.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Chrys.” He doesn’t know what else to say, but he grieves with the child nonetheless. They offer a shrug, trying to seem though but not fooling even themself.

“If I knew I wasn’t gonna see her again, I would have apologised, even if I wasn’t the one who started the fight.” Chrys confesses. “I guess I just miss her.”

Genji wants to say something, anything to ease the pain. But he knows that whatever he says, it won’t make it any easier. Chrys yawns, leaning on Genji, sleep catching up with them. All the crying must have left them spent.

“We should both get back to bed.” Genji says, and Chrys nods slowly.

Genji realizes Chrys will simply crash on the couch if left there, sleep taking command, and takes them in his arms, carrying them back to the dormitories.

As they reach the room Chrys had been assigned earlier today, he looks down to find the half asleep child tugging on Genji’s pajamas.

“What’s the matter?” Genji asks.

“I… I don’t want to sleep alone again.” The child confesses, gaining a soft laugh from Genji.

“There’s always room for you with us, Chrys.”

 

* * *

 

Genji sits down by the study table on the corner of his bedroom. On it, a small holoscreen pops up, Athena’s logo fading into view.

“How may I help you, Genji?” She speaks, the blue light reflecting on his face.

Genji looks behind him, to the bed where Zenyatta and Chrys lay asleep facing eachother, pachimari between them. Now side to side, Genji realizes the color of Zenyatta’s faceplate array is incredibly similar to the faint glow of Chrys’s arm nodes. He chuckles at the similarities he finds between the child and both Zenyatta and him, considering whether fate was at play here. It was too perfect to be a coincidence. And yet...

Genji sighs. Sometimes, the universe won’t give you the opportunities either. It doesn’t mean you cannot create them yourself.

He looks back to the screen, resting chin on his folded hands. Athena’s logo glows.

“What can you give me on Hanzo Shimada?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaah look at this plot?? yup look at it happening


	6. Check Up

Zenyatta straightens his back as he faces one of the many doors in the Watchpoint. He tries to center himself in preparation to what is to come, as this is the door leading to Torbjorn’s workplace. He knows he has nothing to fear out of the man, but his intolerance of omnics was no secret, and sometimes even Zenyatta could feel worn out about witty, distasteful comments on his nature. 

He lightly twits his wrist, testing the mobility of the articulation, and makes a displeased sound at the result he gets. Zenyatta was a relatively old model now, twenty years was no small feat for an omnic. Check ups were no longer optional for him - if not working at optimal conditions, he would start to break little by little, and that thought is a bit alarming. He has so many lives to touch yet, so many years he wishes to spend near his Sparrow. And now there is a small child who has taken a great liking towards him, and Zenyatta also wishes to protect them. He chuckles at the thought, and knocks at the door before sliding it open. No point in delaying it any longer.

To his surprise, Torbjorn’s bearded face isn’t the one to greet him. Instead, a young freckled woman, with reddish hair in a ponytail and sporting a kind smile on her face greets him. 

“Hi!” She wipes an oil stain from her face before waving her hand. “How can I help you…?”

“Zenyatta.” He lightly bows his head in response. 

“Oh, so  _ you _ are Zenyatta” She thinks out loud, grinning. “Hana was telling me about the whole retro gaming night situation earlier. I’m Brigitte Lindholm, it’s nice to meet you!”

“Likewise.” Zenyatta recognizes the surname, and remembers being briefed on the arrival of Torbjorn’s daughter weeks ago. It is a shame that only now he happened to meet her - she seems to be a nice girl. “I was hoping to have a routine check up performed by your father, but I can see he is not present at the moment. I will return later.”

“Oh yeah, dad is playing cards with Rein right now, he probably won’t be back so soon.” She confirms. “But hey! I’m more than capable to do that for you, if you don’t mind.”

“You seem to be busy as well, and I would hate to interrupt your work.” He notes the pieces of yellow armour she seemed to be fiddling with just minutes ago, scattered on the work table.

“Ah, that’s just me being a bored perfectionist, really.” She waves her hand to dismiss his worries, and picks one of the tools from her belt. “ Just take a seat and I’ll have you working seamlessly in no time!”

Zenyatta finds it hard to refuse her help now, and complies. 

They sit in silence for a couple of minutes as she checks Zenyatta’s wrist first, upon request.

“So… Are you close to Hana by any chance?” Brigitte is the one to break the silence, taking her gaze away from her work for a second to show a shy smile.

“I would say Genji shares a stronger connection to her, but I consider her to be a good friend.” Zenyatta answers, soft laughter following. “May I ask why the interest?”

“She came here a couple of times looking for help to repair her MEKA, and I don’t know…” She shrugs. “She is funny, and really cute too with her pink whiskers. I guess I just wanted to know her better.”

Zenyatta lets out a happy hum. Brigitte may not know why she is interested, but Zenyatta has a hunch. 

“Hana Song is a brilliant young woman with a heart of gold.” He says. “I feel you two would be very good friends, so do not fear approaching her.”

Brigitte smiles at the advice, shoulders relaxing a little. Zenyatta can almost see her brain working on what she would be texting Hana tonight to keep conversation going. Zenyatta tilts his head.

“She is also currently single, if that information interests you.” He adds.

Brigitte’s blush is almost instant, and she takes a deep breath to try to calm down.

“Do you think she’s into girls?” She asks eagerly, leaning towards Zenyatta to wait for an answer. He can only laugh.

* * *

 

Half an hour goes by as Brigitte and Zenyatta talk about strategies to get them both together. Or, on second thought, as Zenyatta tries to encourage Brigitte to make a move. 

As she fine tunes the delicate wiring on Zenyatta’s back, Genji appears by the door. Zenyatta expects him to greet Brigitte and make acquaintance with her, but his pace seems rushed and discord emanates from him. He knows something is wrong.

“Have you seen Chrys?” He asks as soon as he gets close enough. Brigitte stops working so Zenyatta can move freely, so he gets up to meet Genji halfway.

“I left them in their play date with Efi and Orisa. Ana volunteered to watch over them so I could have my check up performed.” Zenyatta explains, holding Genji’s hand to calm him. 

Genji shakes his head.

“They’re not there anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah you guys don't worry, everyone's ok those two are just owl parents overreacting ok


	7. What's the plan?

Genji has looked everywhere, asked everyone, and still nothing. The improvised soccer field he expected to find the children at is empty, and he worries. They were playing with Orisa and Efi a couple of minutes ago, and if he didn’t find a big centaur omnic in the small island then Genji could no longer call himself a ninja with keen senses. 

Shame washes over him as he relays the bad news to Zenyatta, and then even more as they find the child sitting on the far table of the dining hall, peanut butter and jam sandwich in hand. Ana sits across it, sipping her tea peacefully as the worried caretakers approach

“Where were you?” Genji is the one to speak first, his breath slightly faltering.

“Getting a late afternoon snack” Ana gestures to the kettle in front of her and to Chrys happily biting on the sandwich. “Efi had to leave not to miss school tomorrow, so we had to cut playtime short.”

“Genji! Zenyatta!” Chrys tries to grab their attention, leaving the sandwich back on the table for later consumption and standing back on their feet. “Aunt Ana made me a dress! Look!”

The child twirls with a small hop, floating for a second. The dress is purple and white in alternating strips, with a black belt tied around the waist. Zenyatta kneels down to pat their head and praise their look. 

“I just repurposed one of Hana’s old t-shirts.” Ana explains as Genji sits down across Ana, finally calming down. Chrys is found, and no longer wearing old hospital clothes  - the new dress made them incredibly happy, and that made Genji smile. 

“Sorry for making a fool of myself, I seem to worry too much about Chrys’s well being.” Genji notes.

“That’s something every new parent has been through, so don’t worry.

Genji looks at Ana, half concerned, half surprised. She notices the reaction, immediately sighing. 

“Chrys, sweetie, could you get me the sugar from the kitchen?” Ana interrupts their conversation with Zenyatta, and the child nods, hopping on their way to fetch it

Zenyatta sits down by Genji’s side, noticing that whatever she had to tell them was serious - she was strangely focused on her cup of tea, as if it pained her to talk about this. 

“What are you two going to do about Chrys?” She goes directly to her point. “Child services is arriving in a couple of days, I thought you were aware of that. So… What’s the plan?”

They look at each other as Ana sips her tea, waiting for an answer.

The plan? Genji though he knew the plan - take care of Chrys until Gibraltar’s child services arrive, and evaluate the child’s situation. Angela would carefully strip them of years and years of cybernetics as painlessly as she could, and then they would be hopefully adopted by a loving family in the country, to have a healthy, uneventful life. Their past would only be a distant memory, and Genji and Zenyatta would be heroes to Chrys, to be seen for this week only and never again, only serving their purpose as aspirational figures. 

But then Genji did not expect finding himself as anxious as he was just a couple minutes ago because he could not pinpoint where they were. Or how he wanted to hold them and never let go that night he caught them crying because of pain, the same pain Genji knew so well but that felt so distant now. And yet he would gladly trade places so Chrys could have one peaceful night of sleep - no pain, no nightmares. 

He didn’t expect to wake up one night, Chrys trying to get free from under the blanket of their shared bed for a quick trip to the bedroom, and pulling the blanket in their adorable clumsiness. He remembers how his heart melted as the child quietly apologised, tucking both of them under the blanket again, and giving the three of them - Zenyatta, Pachimari and Genji - a kiss on the forehead as a token before leaving.

He didn’t expect to find Zenyatta trying and failing to teach Chrys how to meditate, but finding the situation adorable nonetheless, making him wonder - is this what having a loving family feels like?

And yet, there they are, Ana reminding them that Chrys is to be taken away in a couple of days. They are too attached right now. Are they willing to adopt the child, then? Genji never managed to bring the subject to Zenyatta. And yet - 

“I fear we have become very attached to them.” Zenyatta says, grabbing their attention. He looks at Genji and reaches for his hand under the table. “I do not see why, in the light of this fact, not fight for their custody now.”

Genji smiles under his visor. With Zenyatta there, holding his hand and grounding him - he almost felt like he could be a good father someday. A father Chrys deserved. 

Ana’s reaction to that is far from being positive, however, which surprises them. She sighs before putting her teacup down.

“You should know I’m only saying this because I’ve been through the whole parenting thing already.” She begins. “Raising my Fareeha changed who I was, for the better. I love my little girl, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Ana pours down more of the tea from the kettle in front of her into her teacup.

“But it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.” She continues. “Not because I had to raise her without her father, by all means that was the hardest on her, not me… But look at our job. Do you know how hard it is to come back from a long mission, blood on your hands, wounded from head to toe, to have your child look at you in that state?”

They look at eachother again, unable to form an answer for that. Genji hadn’t taken that into consideration, and the way Ana puts it, it’s a serious matter. 

Genji looks back and finds Chrys hopping back to the table, bowl of sugar hold tightly in both hands. He didn’t know what to do, or what Zenyatta thought about it either - but he realized one thing. This wasn’t about him. So if the best thing for Chrys was to be adopted by someone else, then… Well… 

Protecting Chrys would also mean protecting them from himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy what's it gonna be???


End file.
